Media Tip Sheets

Moving the start of the 2024 democratic primary to South Carolina

Tuesday, December 6, 2022, By Ellen Mbuqe

Last week the rules committee of the Democratic National Committee voted to make South Carolina the first state in the 2024 primaries. A proposal championed by President Joe Biden, this would take away Iowa’s role as the first state to for the presidential primaries.

Steven White, an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University who studies Southern politics and race and politics, had this reaction to the news:

  • “Moving South Carolina to the front of the Democratic primary calendar will give Black voters more influence in early media coverage, but I don’t think the change will have a big impact on who actually gets the nomination. Biden easily won the nomination in 2020 despite doing terribly in Iowa and New Hampshire. I think we’re probably already past the days when early momentum from those states could carry an underdog to the nomination,” said White.

To schedule an interview with Prof. White, please reach out to Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations at Syracuse University at either ejmbuqe@syr.edu or 412-496-0551 (cell)